Water Trails

The Allegheny River System

Enjoy a Leisurely Float While Sightseeing

Water trails are boat routes suitable for canoes, kayaks and small motorized watercraft. Like conventional trails, water trails are recreational corridors between specific locations.

Each water trail is unique, a reflection of Pennsylvania’s diverse geology, ecology and communities. Typically, they are comprised of access points, boat launches, day use sites, and in some cases overnight camping areas.

The biggest water trail in the Forest region is the Allegheny River system, the upper segment of which begins as a spring in a farmer’s field in northern Pennsylvania’s Potter County, near Coudersport. The river loops north into New York state, eventually returning to Pennsylvania at the Allegheny Reservoir.

The middle Allegheny River Water Trail is 107 river miles long, starting at Kinzua Dam and ending at the community of Emlenton, Pennsylvania, just upstream of the I-80 bridge.

Over 300 miles from the river system’s beginning, the lower Allegheny River joins the Monongahela River at Pittsburgh’s Point State Park to form the Ohio River.

The size of the Allegheny River and the constant release of water from Kinzua Dam make the river navigable by canoe all year long. The normal summer flow of the Allegheny River along the length of the trail accommodates small, shallow-draft, powered and non-powered craft. This is a good novice and family canoe and kayak river.